On Oct. 21 a lowerchambercommissionapproved a billseeking to limitaccess to the morning-afterpill and information on abortion for rape victims. The bill removed access to the morning-afterpill for rape victims, as well as the obligation to providethemwithinformationabouttheirrights and availablehealthservices. A weeklater, lawmakers approved a legislativereportrecommending that hospitals be forced to warn the policeevery time a woman is examinedoverabortion-relatedissues.

Minister of Women, Racial Equality and Human Rights Nilma Lino said the demonstration was important for giving visibility to afro-descendent women, and defending their rights.

“This is the first march of Black women that aims to draw society and political leaders' attention to the effort, by conservative sectors, to approve bills that harm their rights,” she added.

Vanda Mendez, one of the movement's leaders, highlighted that in recent years, a process of change allowed a certain expansion of their rights in terms of access to the political sphere, as well as access to goods and services.

Nevertheless, such achievements are being questioned, with “Black women living in conditions of vulnerability, of fragility, without guarantees,” she added.

Blackwomen, who sufferfromboth racial and genderdiscrimnation, are more likely to be victims of violence in the country, found a recentgovernmentreport issued one week ago.Over the lastdecade, murders of BlackWomen in Brazilgrew by 54 percent, while for light-skinnedwomen the figure dropped by 9.8 percent.

The findings take place as the Brazilian government took an important step earlier this year to combat femicide by signing into law a measure that increases the penalty for such crimes.

Many social organizations participated in the march, including the labor union CUT. The march took place a couple of days ahead of Black Awareness Day, celebrated since the 1960s in Brazil—Nov. 20 is the anniversary of the death of Zumbi, one of the last leaders of the settlement dos Palmares, where African slaves used to go and resist after they fled their plantations.